Customer Reviews

Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, Book 2)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I don't think I'm going to enjoy writing this review very much, because I'm sort of torn about how I feel about the book. I really enjoyed Storm Born and was looking forward with much anticipation to Thorn Queen but I'm left feeling a bit disappointed. I want to preface my review by explaining that I think Richelle Mead is a good author and a solid story teller (no, they aren't the same thing). I find her books to have depth in both plot and characters (she's especially gifted with secondary and ancillary characters) and of the two series I've read, this one and the Georgia Kincaid series, they are generally a nice way to spend a few dollars and a few hours.

And actually, that's sort of the problem. It's ONLY a NICE way to spend them.

Technically, Mead's good. She delivers. But where Storm Born was an exciting premiere, Thorn Queen was more similar in - well - in emotional aftertaste to the Kincaid series than I would like.

I stopped reading that series after two books because there just never seemed to be enough happening that WASN'T Georgia angsting over her life as a succubus or her relationship with her boyfriend. Solid enough stories without anything truly exciting or motivating me to continue. Every time I finished one of those books I was left feeling so ambivalent that it didn't seem worth continuing.

Storm Born was a nice change. I enjoyed Eugenie Markham (except for that god-awful name - seriously - EUGENIE?) and appreciated her dilemmas as they kept piling up. The only thing I didn't like about Storm Born was her relationship with Kiyo, and it kept it from being a five star book for me. I had hope that Mead would give us a series of excitement and anticipation.

Then I read Thorn Queen.

It's NOT a bad book. In fact, like with all the Mead books I've read, it's enjoyable while going through it. For some reason, it's when I put Mead's books down and really THINK about what I read that I start having problems. I don't know why. Similar to the Kincaid series, I was left feeling like most of this book had more to do with what was going on AROUND the central plot than it had to do with the plot itself - and the central plot itself just wasn't that interesting. It was a great premise - something's stealing gentry in the Thorn Queen's domain and while Eugenie struggles with her duality of self and emotion, she's got to figure out what and stop it while she also keeps the land alive, her people fed, and her humanity guarded.

Yeah. GREAT premise. Not so great execution.

It's not as action packed as the first. It's not as tense as the first. It's not as well-paced as the first. AND it's still got Kiyo, who I went from mildly disliking to actively detesting in this book. And Eugenie lost a lot of her charm for me too.

I'm just not sure how to sustain belief in the strength of a main character who has a smothering and overprotective lover who lacks any comprehension of her core self. A lover who keeps trying to guide her away from the inevitable. A lover who spends almost all his time with his pregnant ex - without ever giving Eugenie a reason why that relationship is history, or how ancient it is, now that I think about it - and it sure as hell wasn't THAT ancient if the fantabulous Queen Maiwenn was so early along in the pregnancy that she wasn't even showing at first. Then when she does start showing, Kiyo expects Eugenie to make nice with Maiwenn and her impending kit. After lying to Eugenie about it from the beginning. Uh. Yeah.

I'm understanding and all, but sheesh, if Eugenie bent herself any more for this guy, you could salt her and sell her at ball parks.

Not to mention that as far as whirlwind romances go, the one between Eugenie and Kiyo sucks. They couldn't be more incompatible. Unfortunately, the development of that relationship in Thorn Queen and the resolution that followed was neither interesting, healthy, nor adult. Unfortunately, it also didn't feel like that solid of a resolution because Eugenie is the QUEEN alright - but it's of emotional indecision.

That being said - I love Dorian. Love him. He's SO deliciously self serving yet devoted. So layered. You know exactly where you stand with Dorian, because he'll tell you - whether you want him to or not. He's FILLED with his own agenda, and yet...

*Small Spoiler*
...when he tells Eugenie that he wouldn't care if she rules the Otherworld or goes back to just exorcising spirits, he's never letting what happened to her happen again, I just smiled.

*End Spoiler*

Here's a guy who loves her, supports her, is interested in helping her, and regardless of her choice in the baby department, still wants to be with her. Not to mention he's an adult that understands that life is never black and white. Black and white is for children. Life is all about managing the gray areas as best you can until you die.

Um. Yeah. Run in the other direction, Eugenie, he's BAD for you!! Just...send him MY way.

*Rolls her eyes*

I'd love, though, if just once Eugenie - when facing a plethora of smothering protectors and erstwhile defenders - would just look at them and say, "Thanks guys, I appreciate it and all, but I can kick my own asses. Fight beside me. Watch my back while I watch yours. Help me all you want and I'll do the same for you, but the only PROTECTION I need is some Coppertone SPF70."

Maybe Eugenie will get there someday.

That day was not today.

Storm born was the wonderful series debut by Richelle mead and opened our eyes to the possibilities of Otherworlds and gave us the wonderful protagonist of Eugenie Markham, a shamanic mercenary with Faerie blood. We were also introduced to Dorian the King with an agenda and Kiyo the shapeshifting veterinarian with a secret.

Now with Thorn Queen Eugenie is seeing the full and sometimes horrific extent of her powers and she is starting to loose her fear of them, and is learning to gain control. We are again introduced to many wonderful secondary and tertiary characters, the main characters and secondaries from the first book are fleshed out even more and the writing is once again nearly flawless and the plot is so excellent that it's a sure thing that you are going to start reading this book and never want it to end.

I will warn you there is a lot of adult content though not nearly as much as some other authors use when writing about the Fey or the Shining ones and there is a rather long but important rape scene. So those who many not be able to handle these types of things may want to stay away from this novel. Although I do have to say both the sex and the rape are handled quite well. The sex actually does move the plot along and the rape was quite necessary to the furthering story line.

For those of you who are familiar with the work of Laurell K Hamilton, specifically the Anita Blake series; I'd like to point out that I think all three of the main characters here remind me a lot of Jean-Claude, Richard and Anita. But not nearly so angsty and annoying.

I cannot wait for the next book in this series to hit the stand.

Thorn Queen didn't live up to the expectations set by the first book in the series, the storyline wasn't great and the writing didn't improve the book any

Eugenie's life isnt all that great, since she inherited the Alden Land she has been trying her best to ignore it, her powers and the fact that her bf is having a child with another woman. But when she finds out children are being taken she feels she has to do something, but when she tries things go wrong and she's kidnapped. When she finds out what has been happening she is drugged and then raped for a week before someone comes to her rescue, after she is back at home she isnt her normal self. She has changed and now she has to deal to what she has become, she has to figure out if its a good thing or bad.

The sequel to Storm Born was a total let down from the way the author changed the heroine from a strong tough woman to submissive to her bf, to the way she wrote about the rape of the heroine and then the total lack of chemistry between the characters

ash

The short version of my thoughts on 'Thorn Queen' is easy: Now this is more like it!

Richelle Mead's biggest strength as a writer is in creating fun, engaging characters that grow and change over time. She does it well with Rose and Lissa in the Vampire Academy series and even better with Georgina Kincaid, Seattle's most interesting succubus. These stories stand out from the crowd in the world of urban fantasy fiction because of the well-drawn characters and the changes they go through.

So when I was disappointed in 'Storm Born,' Mead's first Dark Swan book, I honestly should have known better than to doubt her. I finished that book with just enough curiosity to continue on with the second book, and hope that the characters could grow beyond their limitations. In the second book, 'Thorn Queen,' Mead delivers.

It's refreshing to see a character develop like Eugenie Markham has here. In the first book she struck me as shallow and honestly not very interesting, very much like Anita Blake or any number of other stereotypical urban fantasy heroines who can't stop navel-gazing long enough to see what they're doing. But she had potential, and in Richelle Mead's hands that potential is realized. Rather than diving deeper into the mundane and expected, in 'Thorn Queen' Eugenie learns about the aftermath of her big battle from 'Storm Born' and begins to recognize and come to terms with her new role. Though she tries to avoid it, her basic nature demands more of her than she really wants to give. Eugenie remains a tough girl overall, and she grows further into her inherited power, but she also shows some surprisingly vulnerable sides here.

Mead still needs to work on setting. I've been to Tucson and Eugenie's home still doesn't feel like Tucson. What she describes could be any reasonably-sized city in Arizona, or New Mexico, or maybe southern California. The Otherworld still feels fuller and richer (which may be the point), but Mead's Tucson lacks a sense of place. I know she can do it (her Seattle is well-established from the first succubus book), but it's not showing here.

The story developments are interesting and many are unexpected, taking the story places I really didn't think it would go. Surprising new events reveal more dimension for her, and for others. Her relationships develop as well and by the end of the book she makes a smart move that I've been hoping for since the first book, again defying expectation and stereotype.

And near the end, the surprising happened - I found myself cheering on one character as he does exactly what he should have. Simply put, it was awesome, and the ending of 'Thorn Queen' left me anxious for the third book.

And I come back to where I started - real character development, real story progression, unexpected twists... Now this is more like it!

More, please?

This novel contains explicit scenes, not for kids.

I enjoyed the opening short story about a teenage girl's ghost exorcism more than the rest of the entire book. Mead is really talented in writing interesting paranormal briefs, and if she published an anthology of short stories, I'd buy it without hesitation.

Thorn Queen, the main novel, has outstanding world building and good setting descriptions. Unfortunately, it revolves around Eugenie Markham, an impulsive and unlikeable main character who doesn't make smart or good decisions. This lack of sense is why I can't give four stars, despite how much every part of the novel that isn't the main plot impressed me. Honestly, if not for the main character's stupidity, this series would be in the top tier of urban fantasy. The descriptions and supporting cast are awesome.

Eugenie Markham gained the responsibilities as the Thorn Queen in book one, and in book two she totally botches everything. Despite commanding a kingdom of magic users and elves, she has to go and take care of problems *personally.* Even when it's really stupid to rush in with spells blazing because she doesn't have information or a plan. On the romance side, she *thinks* she is with Kiyo, though he obviously cares about his child with another woman much more than her. Dorian is also there, and that matters. Personally I found the romance side of Thorn Queen to be a trainwreck, because Eugenie Markham is stupid.

Overall a great book combined with a main character incapable of deciding what she wants ends in triple stars of 'meh', but I'm invested in the series and will read number three.

In Thorn Queen, Richelle Mead continues to build on story of the half human, half gentry shaman Eugenie Markham. After killing Aeson in the first book, she's now queen of his former kingdom. Turning it into Otherworld equivalent of Arizona does not bode well though for it's technologically inhibited society (who are used to lush fields and trees). Eugenie has to come to terms with her unwanted role as queen once she realizes her people are suffering. She continues to turn away unwanted suitors and battle to protect herself from those wanting her to bear the Storm King's grandchild. Kiyo and Dorian continue to battle for her heart.

Just so you know my perspective (paranormal romance), other books I like are the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole, Alpha-Omega series by Patricia Briggs, Stephanie Meyers' Twilight (yes, I'm 33), etc. Also, I'm up to date on Richelle Mead's other two series, Georgina Kincaid and Vampire Academy.

First, the cons about the book:
- I don't find it believable that the Otherworld could actually invade our world successfully with all their weaknesses to metals (Dorian couldn't even ride in a car!). The Otherworld also doesn't sound like it would have enough beings (with all the reproductive issues) to attack a 6 billion person world like ours, magic or not. Since one of the premises of the series is Eugenie going to great lengths to avoid producing the prophesied grandson of Storm King who will invade our world, this at least needs to seem like a do-able thing.

- Eugenie's name, really, it's awful. Odd, because most of the other names in the book are great.

There are many things I like about this book:

- Although Eugenie harbors gentry prejudices, she's not unreasonable and doesn't make ridiculous decisons because of them (a pet peave of mine from other books).

- I like that I really can't say for sure who Eugenie will end up with by the end of the series. I suspect it's Kiyo but I'll be happy if it isn't too. I don't see what's so awesome about him other than great sex. He doesn't "get" her or accept her magical abilities. It's never a healthy relationship when someone wants you to stifle half of who you are. I'd much prefer she end up with Dorian but his worlds domination ambitions will most likely tear them apart at some point. In Richelle Mead's other series, Georgina Kincaid and Vampire Academy, there is usually one true love that you know the heroine will end up with (somehow) at the end. I don't think it's so obvious in this series, and I look forward to seeing how Richelle Mead wraps up these sagas.

- I love how Mead builds on the Otherworld, it is well described and imagined. The supporting characters are actually interesting with enough depth to bring them to life (and make you care about them).

- The story line of the missing girls runs in the background compared to what's going on in Eugenie's life: Kiyo and Dorian, trying to be a shamen on our world, a queen in the Otherworld and fighting for her body and life. If you're looking for a purely action novel, you may not like this book. This book tackles dark issues like rape with emotional sincerity but manages not to be a dark book, in fact it is laugh out loud funny in lots of places, very sexy, and a thoroughly well-rounded read. I think the character dialogue is one of Richelle Mead's strengths (n all her books).

Although I wasn't sure I liked Eugenie when I started reading Storm Born, I have grown to admire her by the end of this novel, probably because she grew and changed along the way. I can't think of many decisions she made that I would have done differently. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

The first book was good but this book really does engage you and make you fall in love with Eug. I can't get enough of her and at the end of the book...you find yourself happy. Most series end with a cliffhanger and this one sort of does but if you are happy with the ending. If you are a fan of Richelle Mead, you need to read this book....but however you should also wait till all of the books are out to read the series because the next book seriously goes downhill after this book. I really loved Dorian from the beginning and this book really goes in to that sexual tension between them and you can't help but wish that they finally shack up together. You also see the sweet side of Dorian in this book and it's very sexy. There is also tons of those potential rape scenes and finally *SPOILER* rape scene which I'm torn about because you end up feeling bad about the rapist. In summary, I highly recommend this book.

It's hard to understand low reviews on such a great book and series. I enjoy her characters and find the relationships and direction the series is taking superior to her other series. For people to rate it a 1 star would put this book in the worst of the worst, which is not the case. Out of the 3 different series she has running right now this series is the one I'm most enjoying and can't wait for the next one. People make mistakes, especially where personal feeling go, and this is the case with our heroin. She's been thrust into a new world and doesn't understand everything about it and is making the best of a situation while trying to discover who she can trust. Some people seem to feel the hero of any story should be the perfect, never make mistakes, no everything from the beginning type of character. The fact she struggles along trying to deal with a bad situation in a human way, which means making mistakes, is more real than the perfect hero that does everything perfectly. It also leaves me wondering as she goes about the book which direction she'll take in any given decision, this is much better than the story where you can see everything a hundred pages in advance. Great book, great series.

Fun story, I liked the pace. I liked her characters. I'm a big fan of fantasy novels and she's one of my favorite writers.

I really enjoyed reading Thorn Queen and Storm Born. I was looking for another series to get into. I've read all of the Georgina Kincaid books by Richelle Mead, so I thought I'd check out this series. I highly recommend it! It's a great balance of action and romance. I can't wait until 2010 to read the next installment!